This week is Jace Week. All the weekly winners are either Jace, the Mind Sculptor, or related to its unbanning in Modern. Exiting times are ahead in the world of Modern and finance, as we watch brewsters creating their Jace oriented decks, while waiting for the first results those decks post in the competitive environment.
Once again, right in time for FNM, I will now tell you what cards will be the talk of the town tonight!
This week Jace, the Mind Sculptor was unbanned in modern and is now a $145 card. Within 45 minutes of the unbanning announcment all copies of the card were sold out, save a few very damaged and overpriced versions here and there. Bloodbraid Elf spiked as well, but ended up with a more modest $8 price tag. Well, it does depend on your definition of 'modest' of course, since that price tag is pretty steep for an uncommon that was reprinted several times in sets with decent print runs.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor seems to have settled around $145, after a short spike to $190 the day after the unbanning. At MTGStocks.com we give you both the TCG price and the Market price. The difference between the two is an important one. The TCG gives you the average of the prices stores ask for a certain card. The market price shows for what price cards are actually sold, and give a clear insight in what people really want to pay for a card. A big difference between the two might indicate that stores have overpriced or underpriced their stock.
When we look at the market price of Jace, the Mind Sculptor, we see that it settled around $127. Which means that players are not willing to put down that $580 for their playsets (but $508 seems to be ok). This might indicate that store prices will dwindle in the coming weeks. But it is hard to say what will happen to the price though. Much depends on the performance of Jace centered decks in modern. Since Jace, the Mind Sculptor is so insanely powerful, it will very probably be a card to reckon with from now on. With good results, the price might go up even further, but don't be alarmed: a reprint is imminent. How much with will influence the price is unclear, we don't know what the print run will be, and a mythic rare in a 'smaller' set might not do that much.
Entreat the Angels spiked this week and that is no wonder. Because what is the first thing you think of when Jace, the Mind Sculptor is legal in modern? Right: miracles. With Jace's +0 ability you can manipulate the top of your deck every turn, increasing the chances of drawing a Entreat the Angels right when you need it.
The sheer power of Entreat the Angels is its very, very underpriced miracle cost. With just 4 lands (which you will have when you casted Jace), you can create two 4/4 flying angels. And one extra for each additional mana you have available. Just one 4/4 angel token is a tough thing to deal with, not to mention if it gets 2, 3 or more sisters on the battlefield.
Just like with Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Entreat the Angels might go further up when new Jace brews net good results. Do note that the market prices of Entreat the Angels lag (far) behind the AVG, indicating that not everyone is convinced of paying that price for the card.
How do you deal with Jace, the Mind Sculptor in Modern now that is it unbanned, especially when you don't have access to the most efficient countermagic like Counterspell, Force of Will and Daze? Well, by just pitching a 4CMC blue card Disrupting Shoal
does the trick. The downside however is, that in the current metagame, only Jeskai Control plays barely
enough 4CMC blue cards (Cryptic Command and Supreme Verdict) to even cast Disrupting Shoal. And even then, Disrupting Shoal would only be useful post-sideboard.
But there is more. Because Disrupting Shoal is also good, and even better in a deck that plays Jace, the Mind Sculptor. With topdeck manipulation you can dig for a card that has the right mana cost. Especially when you play a mirror match, you can pitch your own (or redundant) Jace, the Mind Sculptor to counter your opponents copy. Add those copies of Jace to the stack of other blue 4CMC cards a U/W deck would probably play, and you'll end up with around 8 - 12 cards of that cost.
But don't forget that Disrupting Shoal is not only good against Jace, the Mind Sculptor, it can counter cards of any cost, making it even better in Jace oriented decks, and slightly better in decks that just need some more countermagic in the new Jace Era of Modern.
I would really recommend you to keep an eye on Disrupting Shoal. Traditionally, all cards that have alternative costs are tournament staples in vintage, modern and legacy. Just consider the list of mechanics that perform well: miracles, pitching (FoW), phyrexian mana, delve, suspend and flashback. Just remember that alternative costed cards are like black friday, for underpriced stuff that is really nice to have, people will turn into rampaging beasts.
